


Fairy Tales

by entanglednow



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fairy Tales, Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-11-21
Updated: 2008-11-21
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:22:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/entanglednow/pseuds/entanglednow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We may have to consider the possibility that he's cursed," Gaius said seriously.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fairy Tales

Arthur looked for all the world like he was sleeping.

He'd looked _exactly_ the same way for days now.

Merlin didn't know what had happened, he hadn't been there, no one had. Arthur had been in one of the towers, and then he'd been like this.

All he'd managed to catch, from the castle guards conversations with Uther, had been something about an old woman, and spinning wheels. Half sentences that made no sense, and now Arthur was asleep, had been asleep for three days and no one could do _anything_.

Gaius had checked for head injuries, and tested him for every poison known. But there'd been nothing, absolutely nothing. And there was still nothing, nothing for hour after hour, of standing exhausted in Arthur's room, waiting for any sort of news, anything, they could do to help him.

"We may have to consider the possibility that he's cursed," Gaius said seriously.

"Cursed? What do you mean cursed?" Uther was visibly gritting his teeth, it was the same expression he always wore when magic was involved, like he was always a breath away from screaming.

"He's been forced into this state by a specific magic, and the only way to reverse it, is an equally specific action, event or item."

"Which would be what?"

Gaius levelled that hard, serious look in Uther's direction and sighed.

"It could be anything, a certain flower from a certain place, the second Thursday after a full moon. The instruments used to break curses are almost always _very_ specific but _different_ every time-"

Uther looked set to grind his way through the floor, but instead he just raised a hand, fingers twitching under his glove, as though he was set to throttle someone if only given a target for his rage.

"Find out, I don't care how, I don't care who you have to question, just find out!" Uther swirled from the room, trailing cape and anger.

Gaius gathered his bottles and followed after a moment, a quiet, unhappy shadow.

The silence dragged on painfully.

Morgana stared down at Arthur, like she might wake him up with her own fierce will.

Merlin had never felt so useless in his life.

Morgana eventually made a soft, decisive noise, and took two steps, leant down over Arthur's sleeping form and kissed him.

Then she drew back just a fraction, and stared at him for second, before straightening on a sigh, gathering her sleeves against her chest.

She caught them looking at her, and tipped her chin at both of them, as if daring them to comment.

"I read it in a story once," she said softly. "About a kiss breaking curses, I didn't think it would hurt."

Arthur remained still, laid out on the pillows, as though he had simply fallen asleep while listening to their conversation.

"I didn't think it would hurt," she said again with a soft sigh.

"What story?" Merlin asked curiously, because _anything_ involving curses might provide a clue.

"Just an old fable, that I read as a child, but Gaius always makes a point of telling us old stories sometimes have their root in fact, and I thought-" Morgana shook her head, and then stopped and turned it sideways.

"Gwen?"

"Yes?"

Morgana's expression was soft, but insistent. Merlin could feel the same vague sense of desperation in Morgana that was in him. Only maybe he was just holding on tighter to his.

Gwen's eyes widened.

"Oh, I don't think that would be proper at all my lady, I don't think I could do anything."

"Still, it's worth trying."

"I couldn't." Gwen looked horribly uncomfortable, hands twisted together, throat moving awkwardly in one narrow swallow after another.

"It can't hurt to try," Merlin said quietly. "If Gaius is right, then we might have to do even stranger things before we wake him up."

Gwen ran her hands down her dress, over and over.

"Humour us Gwen please," Morgana said quietly, and Merlin didn't think she'd let that thread of desperation creep in for anyone else.

Gwen cleared her throat twice.

"Alright, alright I'll just-" Gwen pushed all her hair back and took a deep breath. Then she stepped close to the bed, bent at the waist-

Once actually face to face with Arthur she stopped.

"I don't think I can do it," she whispered.

"Just do it quickly and don't think about it."

Merlin took a breath and held it.

"Oh-" Gwen did as she was told, then straightened and looked very uncomfortable.

She seemed strangely relieved when Arthur didn't move.

"I'm sorry," she said, the breathless release of tension making it sound almost excited.

"It's not your fault," Morgana said quietly.

Merlin breathed out again.

Morgana was looking at him.

"What?"

She didn't say anything she just looked at him _harder_.

"What?!"

"Oh!" Gwen said suddenly, all surprise, and Merlin was so glad _someone_ was apparently following Morgana's bizarre facial expressions.

"Maybe you should try," Morgana says softly.

"Try what?"

Morgana tilted her head towards the bed meaningfully.

Which, all right, yes, Merlin got it then.

"What me?" He laughed, he couldn't help it, one quick strangled sound.

"Yes you."

"You want _me_ to kiss Arthur?" Merlin hoped he was wearing a good incredulous expression.

"I want you to kiss Arthur," Morgana said seriously.

"Last time I checked I wasn't a girl," Merlin pointed out, it seemed strangely important that he make that distinction.

"The story never said it had to be a girl, it just said someone who-" she stopped, shook her head. "It just said someone who cares about them."

"Look, I'm fairly sure Arthur likes me, but I don't think he likes me quite that much," Merlin protested.

Morgana folded her arms

"Merlin stop fussing and just do it."

Merlin's eyes couldn't help but stray to where Arthur still slept, hair flung out across the pillows, lighter than it should be in the sunlight, and the steady rise and fall of his chest was the only sign he was still alive.

It was horrible to see him like that, and not be able to do anything.

He shook his head, more despair than protest.

"It's not going to work."

"Then what does it matter," Morgana said smoothly, and though her voice was barely above a whisper, her eyes were iron hard. "You kiss him and nothing happens. We lose nothing, but if it works."

"It's not going to work."

Morgana tilted her head up sharply.

"Would you rather let Arthur die than try?"

"Of course not," Merlin said roughly, and knew instantly that he'd already lost. "Of course not."

Morgana stepped back to give him room, and so Merlin had no more room or reason to protest. Though he was uncomfortably aware that though this may mean nothing to Arthur, the same wasn't exactly true of _himself_.

Arthur would almost certainly disapprove, he'd make that expression he always made, when Merlin had done something particularly ridiculous.

That thought wasn't helping at all.

He wasn't quite sure where to put his hands on the bed, because he certainly wasn't going to put them on Arthur, and the sheets were tucked under, and around him. Morgana hadn't touched him at all, and Gwen had been too terrified to touch anything, but there seemed to be _more_ of Merlin and not enough space by the bed at all.

Arthur was going to kill him if he ever found out about this.

He settled for non-specific parts of the sheet, cold under his fingers and soft enough to dip down when he leant over.

He could feel the warm flare of Arthur's breath across his face, shivering over his skin on every exhale, and for a second he couldn't move, he was frozen there, holding his breath and-

Morgana cleared her throat.

"All right," he grumbled, and kissed him.

Arthur's mouth was almost unbearably soft, and it gave under his own, in a way that Merlin wasn't prepared for at all.

He very cautiously pulled back.

Arthur still slept, and for an instant he couldn't feel anything but _horrible_ disappointment.

"I told you it wouldn't work," Merlin said quietly, staring with despair at the line of Arthur's lower lip.

Then he lifted his eyes, and found Arthur was staring at him from less than an inch away.

"Did you kiss me?" Arthur sounded serious, and surprised.

Merlin straightened and tried desperately to look innocent and harmless.

"What? No, of course not." He frowned and shook his head, pretended his pulse wasn't galloping in his throat, and took a step back.

Arthur peered up at him for a moment, but by then Morgana had made her way to the bed and was curling long arms around him, much to Arthur's surprise.

He looked at Merlin again, expression even more curious than before, but then he got lost in Morgana's hair.

Merlin decided that would be a good time to slide his way carefully away from the bed.

"What's going on? Why am I in bed, and why are you all staring at me?" Arthur tried to escape from Morgana's arms, but clearly she was having none of it. Arthur relented rather than risk embarrassment.

When Morgana stood up again she looked at him in a way that clearly _meant_ something, but Merlin was still pretending to be ignoring her.


End file.
